The Aphelinidae are a moderate-sized family of tiny

parasitic wasp Parasitoid wasps are a large group of hymenopteran superfamilies, with all but the wood wasps (Orussoidea) being in the wasp-waisted Apocrita. As parasitoids, they lay their eggs on or in the bodies of other arthropods, sooner or later causi ...

s, with about 1100 described species in some 28 genera. These minute insects are challenging to study, as they deteriorate rapidly after death unless extreme care is taken (e.g., preservation in

ethanol Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a ...

), making identification of most museum specimens difficult. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e of the majority are primary

parasitoid In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...

s on

Hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from to arou ...

, though other hosts are attacked, and details of the life history can be variable (e.g., some attack eggs, some attack pupae, and others are hyperparasites). Males and females may have different hosts and different life historie

They are found throughout the world in virtually all habitats, and are extremely important as

biological control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also i ...

agents. The oldest fossils are known from the Eocene aged

Baltic Amber The Baltic region is home to the largest known deposit of amber, called Baltic amber or succinite. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that these forests created more than 1 ...

. They are difficult to separate from other

Chalcidoidea Chalcid wasps (, , for their metallic colour) are insects within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, part of the order Hymenoptera. The superfamily contains some 22,500 known species, and an estimated total diversity of more than 500,000 species, me ...

except by subtle features of the wing venation and other difficult characters, and the family appears to be

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

, so is likely to be split up in the future (e.g., the Calesinae may become a separate family). The families

Azotidae ''Ablerus'' is a genus of chalcid wasps formerly belonging to the family Aphelinidae. The genus was created by the American entomologist Leland Ossian Howard in 1894 for the species named in that year by William Harris Ashmead as ''Centrodora c ...

and

Eriaporidae Eriaporinae is a subfamily of chalcid wasps in the order Hymenoptera, family Pirenidae. There are 2 genera and 6 described species in Eriaporinae. Eriaporinae was formerly considered a subfamily of the family Aphelinidae. Genera * '' Eunoti ...

were recently elevated in rank from subfamilies of Aphelinidae.

Genera

*''

Allomymar ''Allomymar'' is a little-known monotypic genus of chalcid wasps belonging to the family Aphelinidae. The only species within the genus is ''Allomymar taitae'' and it is possible that ''Allomymar'' is synonymous with ''Encarsia ''Encarsia'' ...

'' *''

Aphelinus ''Aphelinus'' is a genus of parasitoid wasps. Several of the species are important because they parasitize agricultural pests, such as the soybean aphid (''Aphis glycines'') or the Russian wheat aphid -''Diuraphis noxia'' - (''A. albipodus'' Haya ...

'' *''

Aphytis Aphytis ( grc, Ἄφυτις), also Aphyte (Ἀφύτη) and Aphytus or Aphytos (Ἄφυτος), was an ancient Greek city in Pallene, the westernmost headland of Chalcidice. Around the middle of the 8th century BC colonists from Euboea arrived. ...

'' *''

Bardylis Bardylis (also Bardyllis ; grc, Βάρδυλις; 448 – c. 358 BC) was an Illyrian king, and the founder of the first attested Illyrian dynasty. During his reign, Bardylis aimed to made Illyria a regional power interfering with Macedon. He ...

'' *''

Botryoideclava ''Botryoideclava'' is a small genus of chalcid wasps belonging to the family Aphelinidae. Partial species list *'' Botryoideclava bharatiya'' Subba Rao *'' Botryoideclava thailandica'' Hayat, 1994 References Aphelinidae {{Chalcidoi ...

'' *''

Cales Cales was an ancient city of Campania, in today's ''comune'' of Calvi Risorta in southern Italy, belonging originally to the Aurunci/Ausoni, on the Via Latina. The Romans captured it in 335 BC and established a colony with Latin rights of 2,500 ...

'' *'' Centrodora'' *'' Coccobius'' *'' Coccophagoides'' *''

Coccophagus ''Coccophagus'' is a large genus of chalcid wasps belonging to the family Aphelinidae. Species Coccophagus contains the following species: * '' Coccophagus ablusus'' Annecke and Insley, 1974 * '' Coccophagus acanthosceles'' Waterston, 1916 * ...

'' *'' Dirphys'' *''

Encarsia ''Encarsia'' is a large genus of minute parasitic wasps of the family Aphelinidae. The genus is very diverse with currently about 400 described species and worldwide distribution. Noyes, J. S. 2003Universal Chalcidoidea database/ref> The number ...

'' *'' Eretmocerus'' *'' Eriaphytis'' *'' Eutrichosomella'' *'' Hirtaphelinus'' *'' Lounsburyia'' *''

Marietta Marietta may refer to: Places in the United States *Marietta, Jacksonville, Florida *Marietta, Georgia, the largest US city named Marietta *Marietta, Illinois *Marietta, Indiana *Marietta, Kansas *Marietta, Minnesota *Marietta, Mississippi *Mar ...

'' *'' Marlattiella'' *'' Metanthemus'' *'' Oenrobia'' *'' Proaphelinoides'' *'' Prophyscus'' *'' Protaphelinus'' *'' Pteroptrix'' *'' Samariola'' *'' Timberlakiella'' *'' Verekia''

References

* Yasnosh, V. A., 1983. Review of the world genera of Aphelinidae (Hymenoptera). 1. key to the genera.''Entomological Review'' 62:145-159.

External links

Universal Chalcidoidea Database

Research on Aphelinidae

on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site
a citrus whitefly parasitoid, ''Encarsia lahorensis ''
on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site {{Taxonbar, from=Q2035648 Biological pest control wasps Apocrita families